Beautiful women are sometimes underestimated or undervalued just because of their looks. And, unfortunately, Redditor Senior-Fisherman8620 got to experience this preconceived notion firsthand.

She recently made a post on the subreddit ‘Petty Revenge‘ detailing how she was labeled the “stupid” blonde both in high school and university.

However, the self-described Christina Applegate lookalike said she managed to get back at her former teacher and dean who were particularly mean to her, and got the last laugh after all.

You’d think that pretty people have it easier, but this woman has had to battle the “dumb blonde” stereotype for a huge portion of her life

Image credits: BOOM (not the actual image)

It was especially bad during her high school and university years

Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual image)

Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual image)

Image credits: Linkedin Sales Navigator (not the actaul image)

Image credits: Senior-Fisherman8620

A cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character is called the halo effect. Psychologist Edward Thorndike first coined the term in 1920. Essentially, our overall impression of a person (“He is nice!”) impacts our evaluations of that person’s specific traits (“So he’s probably also smart!”). Perceptions of a single trait can carry over to how people perceive other aspects of that person.

This story is an example of the so-called reverse halo effect. As the name implies, it occurs when a person judges another negatively based on only one known characteristic. That single trait colors all of the others for someone experiencing the reverse halo effect.

We managed to get in touch with Senior-Fisherman8620 and she was kind enough to have a little chat with us about the memories she explored in her post.

“It was definitely a difficult moment in my life as I was growing,” she told Bored Panda. “At the time of the occurrences, it initially gave me a sense of panic thinking like I wasn’t going to be believed. It is a horrible feeling, to tell the truth and have someone immediately not believe you. For no reason other than they just chose not to.”

“During my grade school years, I was rather introverted, basically living with my nose in a book in order to escape whatever was happening around me. This led to being severely physically and verbally bullied for years, kids telling me how awful and stupid and lame I was and when my teacher, and later dean, chose to make an assumption just based on the way I looked, it quickly brought back that feeling that I couldn’t do anything right.”

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual image)

The Redditor said that the added stress of having to deal with all of that nonsense took a toll not only on her academic performance but her personal life as well. “It was as if, not only did my peers feel that I was incapable of doing anything ‘cool’, but now my fear was confirmed by adults in my life as well. It just created a place in me that made me feel like was less than anyone else. I thought that no one would ever like me, not even my leaders.”

As the negative experiences compounded, she found it harder and harder to make sense of them. “Being an introvert, and living with a type of PTSD over the way my social life had gone during my formative years, I think I just didn’t make a good first impression,” the woman said. “My teachers just didn’t want to let go of the stigma I had carried with me and I think they struggled to see me as anything other than an incapable little girl.”

But somehow she managed to come out of it on top. “Eventually, I found my voice. I realized who I was. God was an important part of that. I wouldn’t have made it I think if it hadn’t been for Him. I persevered no matter what people made me feel like. I finally decided I didn’t care what people thought of me as long as I was proud of myself,” the Redditor explained.

After reflecting on the past, she now believes that this all happened for a reason. “I wouldn’t be who am today without having experienced what I did. I teach junior high now and I feel that I am better prepared to be understanding, empathetic, and much more aware of the issues that this age group faces every day.”

Image credits: Esther Tuttle (not the actual image)

“It also taught me to be fair, to listen, and to never judge anyone. By … realizing my lifelong dream and writing my first novel, I found it to be extremely liberating and therapeutic in its own way,” she added. “Not only did I feel the pride and joy that came with such an accomplishment, but being able to essentially confront the two people that had hurt me brought with it a sense of healing.”

The woman said it wasn’t getting back at them as much as it was about the fact that she may never be able to face the kids that had tormented her. And now she can finally put it all to rest. “It definitely was cathartic.”

As for the dumb blonde stereotype, there’s a study published in Nature Genetics that fully debunks it. The researchers found that a switch of a single letter of the genetic code is responsible for lighter hair: an A (adenine) is changed to a G (guanine) on a region of human chromosome 12. The team said that because this specific genetic change only affects the hair follicle, other cell types — for instance, brain cells — are not affected.

(The results also highlight that the genetic change behind blond hair can’t be linked to other attributes, such as skin color or eye color.)

So if you’re having a “blond moment” and someone tries to make it about your hair color, give them the finger.

“It’s clear that this hair color change is occurring through a regulatory mechanism that operates only in the hair,” study author David Kingsley said. “This isn’t something that also affects other traits, like intelligence or personality. The change that causes blond hair is, literally, only skin deep.”

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